The dark hearted Dick Cheney will use Israel to satisfy his addiction to war in the Middle East.

US Vice President Dick Cheney -- the power behind the throne, the eminence grise, the man with the (very) occasional grandfatherly smile -- is notorious for his propensity for secretiveness and behind-the-scenes manipulation. He's capable of anything, say friends as well as enemies. Given this reputation, it's no big surprise that Cheney has already asked for a backroom analysis of how a war with Iran might begin.

In the scenario concocted by Cheney's strategists, Washington's first step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and nuclear facilities in Iran.

This information was leaked by an official close to the vice president. Cheney himself hasn't denied engaging in such war games. For years, in fact, he's been open about his opinion that an attack on Iran, a member of US President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil," is inevitable.

I posted about this over a year ago.

It is clear that the American people will not support an overt military action against Iran, but those same Americans will absolutely support defending Israel if they pick the fight instead.

If this White House does anything well, they are extremely adept at manipulating our emotions.

Whether it is taking our white hot anger and sense of nationalism after 9-11 and using it to bully the Senate into supporting our invasion of Iraq, or using the fear of terrorism to maintain their hold on power, these guys know how to push our buttons and keep us off balance as they do whatever they damn well please with our country and its military.

We must find a way to stop them before they bring our country and the rest of the world into a flaming abyss of eternal warfare.